Kansas GOP leaders pleased by schools ruling

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback talks during a news conference on Friday, March, 7, 2014, in Topeka, Kan. The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state's current public school funding levels are unconstitutional, and the court said Kansas' poor school districts were harmed when the state made the decision to cut certain payments when tax revenues declined during the Great Recession. (AP Photo/The Topeka Capital Journal, Chris Neal)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback and other Republican leaders in Kansas say a state Supreme Court ruling on public schools funding is reasonable.

Brownback said Friday he was pleased with the court’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by parents and school districts. The court found that the state is spending too little on schools.

The court ordered legislators to boost two types of aid by July 1. It returned the case to a lower court for more hearing on how much the state must spend overall to provide an adequate education for every child.

But Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the Legislature has multiple options for complying with the court’s July 1 deadlines. Schmidt said he was pleased that the justices didn’t impose a specific target for the state’s overall spending.